Men treated with cholesterol lowering drugs have a 142% increase in heart disease deaths

This post includes a synopsis of a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Assocition 1991;266:1225-1229 and a recipe for barbecued lance steaks.

Study title and authors:
Long-term Mortality After 5-Year Multifactorial Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases in Middle-aged Men
Timo E. Strandberg, MD; Veikko V. Salomaa, MD; Vesa A. Naukkarinen, MD; Hannu T. Vanhanen, MD; Seppo J. Sarna, PhD; Tatu A. Miettinen, MD
From the Second Department of Medicine (Drs Strandberg, Vanhanen, and Miettinen) and Department of Public Health (Dr Sarna), University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; the National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland (Dr Salomaa); and the Jorvi Hospital, Espoo, Finland (Dr Naukkarinen).

This study can be accessed at: http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/266/9/1225.abstract
 
This trial lasted 15 years (it included 1222 men who had heart disease risk factors) and investigared the effects of various preventitive measures on total death rate and heart disease death rate.
 
The men were split into 2 groups:
Group (a) (intervention group) visited the investigators every fourth month. They were treated with intensive dietetic-hygienic measures and frequently with cholesterol lowering drugs (mainly clofibrate and/or probucol) and blood pressure drugs (mainly β-blockers and/or diuretics).
Group (b) (control group) were not treated by the investigators.
                                                                                                                                              Books:

After 15 years the study revealed 

(1) There was a 45% increase in deaths in the intervention group compared to the control group.
(2) There was a 142% increase in heart disease deaths in the intervention group compared to the control group.
(3) There was a 1300% increase in deaths due to violence in the intervention group compared to the control group.
 
So the men who followed the cholesterol lowering regime were more likely to die earlier and more than twice as likely to die of heart disease.
 
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Recipe of the day

Barbecued Lance Steaks

                                                                                                                                   Food Mall: Steak

Ingredients:

2 x 300g/10½oz steaks, each cut in half

5ml/1tsp olive oil

Salt and freshly milled black pepper

Rocket leaves, to garnish

Method:

1.Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan and cook the steaks according to your preference.

2.Arrange the steaks on a small bed of rocket leaves.